Class 1

Welcome to Class 1

In Year One our teacher is Miss O’Dowd. We are taught on a Wednesday morning by Mrs Wilkinson.

How do we teach in Year 1

A Continuous Provision

Rationale

We teach Year 1 according to the ethos of the EYFS, as we feel that more formal methods of teaching are no longer suitable for our pupils moving from the EYFS into KS1. At Collierley Primary we embark on a play-based ‘Negotiated Curriculum’ in Year 1 in response to a number of issues:

A desire to enhance the quality of independent learning

A desire to create systems that accurately assess the acquired knowledge, skills and concepts of our children so that planning can reflect the individualised learning needs and styles of the children.

Inclusive practice that helps every individual child to meet their learning potential regardless of gender, belief system, culture or language.

A desire to create life-long learners.

Observations of our children’s rote response to the learning situation

Our ultimate aim is to raise standards and outcomes for all of our children.

Process

In Year 1, all subjects are taught implicitly drawing on children’s interests which gives them a clear focus to apply prior knowledge as well as having the opportunity to acquire knowledge from around the classroom.

Whilst teacher led groups are taking place children have free movement around the classroom and opportunities throughout the day to complete clipboard tasks; known to the children as their job. Each day, children choose two jobs to complete, these are focused around key skills drawing upon areas of the EYFS curriculum that can be developed throughout KS1 and extend their understanding of prior learning linked to curriculum coverage. Independent activities are also linked to children’s interests allowing them to fully engage in the tasks and develop skills as effective learners.

Children can choose any time in the day to complete these activities, they have the opportunity to use the role play, writing area, sand, reading area and carpet area to enable their free play as well as their independent learning which assists children to access different learning opportunities based on their individual learning style.

Accountability

A continuous provision has many benefits. Our children enjoy learning and are active and engaged throughout the whole day. They are involved within their learning as they have the choice about the activity they want to focus on and the peers they can work with at that point in the day. As there are no restrictions on the areas they can use, the free movement gives children of different learning styles a more enabling environment.

However, teachers can retain a very tight control over the curriculum and the outcomes for the children through ongoing assessment. The inclusion of basic skills tasks such as reading, writing and maths activities are an integral part of the independent learning activities, alongside focussed English and Maths teaching.

The skills that children develop are significant in creating life-long learners. Every day, children are managing information, problem solving, being creative, making decisions, self-managing and working with others which has resulted in independent and resilient children.

In order to prepare the children for learning in year two and beyond, in the Summer Term of year one the learning environment gradually becomes more formal to enable a smooth transition to this way of learning.